“Whatever concerns or complaints Americans may have about immigration in general, we shouldn’t threaten the future of this group of young people who are here through no fault of their own, who pose no threat, who are not taking away anything from the rest of us. They are that pitcher on our kid’s softball team, that first responder who helps out his community after a disaster, that cadet in ROTC who wants nothing more than to wear the uniform of the country that gave him a chance.”

President Barack Obama announcing the DACA order in 2012.

(Susan Walsh/AP)

Obama said Trump’s decision violates the “spirit” and “basic decency” of the country, and will have little impact of Trump’s promises to give jobs back to natural born American workers.

Trump is giving Congress six months to come up with legislation that can replace Obama’s order.

The 44th President warned Congress that it now holds the fate of Dreamers in its hands.

“I’m heartened by those who’ve suggested that they should. And I join my voice with the majority of Americans who hope they step up and do it with a sense of moral urgency that matches the urgency these young people feel.”

Obama has mostly kept quiet through 2017 as Trump has devoted much of his presidency to erasing Obama’s signature accomplishments.

But Obama said in advance that he would speak up about DACA if Trump, as expected, withdrew from the program.